China’s provocative parking of a giant oil rig near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea was at the heart of tensions that have caused a slump in Chinese tourist visits to Vietnam.
Tourism business from the lucrative Chinese market has dropped by 30%.
The drop comes after widespread anti-China protests in Vietnam, stirred up by China flexing its economic and military muscle to assert its claims to waters that may be rich in mineral and energy deposits.
It claims sovereignty over large parts of the South China Sea under its “nine dash-line” map, first published in 1947, which extends hundreds of miles south from China’s Hainan Island to equatorial waters off the coast of Borneo.
China’s move last year to explore for oil near the Paracel Islands set off protests in Vietnam that left at least three Chinese nationals dead and prompted China to evacuate thousands of its citizens from the country.
Nearly 8million foreigners visited Vietnam last year, but arrivals dropped by nearly 13% in the first five months of this year to about 3.3million, according to government figures.
The number of tourists from Russia declined by 16%, while arrivals from other European countries dropped by 7%.
Vietnam is dropping visa requirements for tourists from the UK and four other European countries to boost its slumping tourism industry.
A decision by prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung means visitors from the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain will no longer need a visa to visit the country for stays of up to 15 days, starting in July.